Russia says it downed 77 Ukrainian drones overnight

Russia's air defenses destroyed 77 Ukrainian drones launched overnight, Russia's defense ministry said on Sunday, as both sides continue cross-border air attacks in the nearly four-year-old war.

The drones were downed over seven regions in southern and central Russia and over Russian-annexed Crimea, the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

A power transmission tower was damaged in the Rostov region bordering Ukraine about 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Moscow, leaving about 250 residents without electricity, Rostov Governor Yuri Slyusar said on Telegram, adding that no one was injured.

Forty-two drones were destroyed over the Saratov region in southwestern Russia and 12 over the Rostov region, the defence ministry said.

Russian authorities rarely disclose the extent of damage from Ukrainian air attacks and almost never confirm hits on military infrastructure.

The war has increasingly featured long-range drone and missile strikes far from the front lines, as each side seeks to hit military, logistics and energy assets deep in the other’s territory.

Moscow has carried out missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and cities in past winters and ahead of this winter, causing blackouts and putting pressure on repair crews as cold weather sets in.

Kyiv has stepped up drone attacks on oil depots, airfields and other targets inside Russia, often casting them as a legitimate response to Moscow’s campaign against Ukraine’s cities and energy system.

Lidia Kelly/Reuters